May 31, 2013
CAMP Rehoboth Committee and Team Reports for 2012
For the last 23 years, CAMP Rehoboth has been working to “Create A More Positive” world.
CAMP Rehoboth is a nonprofit organization that welcomes everyone, regardless of their sexual orientation. CAMP Rehoboth is a community of residents, visitors, organizations, and businesses that work together to promote understanding and provide support for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and straight communities of Delaware. CAMP Rehoboth provides a place to meet new people and old friends, to access health services and educational programs, to participate in special events, and to provide community service in a friendly, supportive environment.
Since its inception, CAMP Rehoboth has served thousands of people each year through advocacy, recreation, education, and cultural programming. Now more than two decades old, the needs of both CAMP Rehoboth and the community it serves continue to evolve. From its beautiful Community Center to Letters from CAMP Rehoboth—its popular magazine—CAMP Rehoboth partners with organizations around the state, providing a network of support across the mid-Atlantic region, and nurturing a long list of services, activities, events, and programs.
Over the last two years, the Board of Directors has made a strong effort to involve as many volunteers as possible in the committees and teams of CAMP Rehoboth. The CAMP Council brings together members of the Board of Directors and representatives from all the CAMP Rehoboth committees for the purpose of sharing information, creating strong teams, and developing leadership.
The following CAMP Reports look back at what was accomplished in 2012, and include the 2011 Audited Financial Statement.
The CAMP Rehoboth Board of Directors
The members of the CAMP Rehoboth Board of Directors are deeply involved in the work of CAMP Rehoboth, with each member of the Board taking on committee and team leadership roles throughout the organization. Committees include: Personnel, Finance, Nominations, Operations, Volunteer Development, Programs, Development (Membership, Grants, Events, and Sponsorship), Succession Planning, and Communication.
After several years of recession, in 2012, the members of the Board were pleased to see that their hard work, careful oversight of the budget, and the amazing support of many CAMP Rehoboth members and supporters had produced better than expected results.
As 2012 came to a close the Board of Directors said farewell to two retiring members (Beth Cohen and Howard Menaker), and welcomed two new ones (Bob Hoffer and Kathy Wiz).
Succession Planning Team
Like many non-profit organizations, CAMP Rehoboth has benefited from having passionate founders and longtime volunteers and staff constantly involved in the work of the organization. At the same time, the sudden loss of that long term commitment could leave the organization in a vulnerable position.
In 2012 the CAMP Board of Directors launched a Succession Planning Team. The team conducted extensive interviews with each staff and staff level volunteer, reviewed the interviews and from them developed a succession plan. The team has also created a plan for the emergency loss of one or more of the crucial members of the staff, and is currently preparing the final document for Board approval, with a projected completion date of June 2013.
Development Team
The CAMP Rehoboth Development Team was completely reorganized in 2012, and now serves as the hub for the Membership, Grants, Events, and Sponsorship (established 2013) committees.
Membership — Hoping to expand our base of supporters, the Membership Committee introduced a new-member, Membership Campaign in the spring of 2012. Targeting those in our database who hadn’t yet become members, the effort was jump-started with the generous offer by long-time volunteer staff member, Charlie Lee, to match $5,000 of monies donated.
At its conclusion, the new program proved successful, garnering nearly 60 new memberships while raising over $12,500. Soon after, the Committee decided to establish it as an annual campaign to be executed in the first quarter of each year. Presently, the program is about to introduce its first follow-up piece to the campaign and plans to wrap-up the second year’s effort by mid-summer.
While many non-profits have fallen victim to a troubled economy in recent years, CAMP Rehoboth has remained a solid and growing organization. In its fifth year of existence, the annual membership program has contributed to this status and has increased each year since inception. With nearly an 80% retention rate, the program has amassed over 625 total memberships.
Grants — A Grants Development Team was established in October 2012 bringing together volunteers with various areas of expertise, including proposal writing, application reviewing, and proof reading. A process was established and templates were developed. By December, the team had participated in the submission of its first grant proposal. Since that time, the team has submitted several additional grant proposals and continues to learn and improve its process. It is also working to build relationships with funding organizations. The team is continually conducting research to match CAMP Rehoboth needs with funding opportunities, with the goal of increasing financial support to sustain and enhance CAMP Rehoboth and its programs.
Events — Sundance Benefit, Labor Day Weekend—2012 marked the 25th Anniversary of CAMP Rehoboth’s premier event. With the hard work of 167 volunteers, the auction showcased over 450 wonderful items and packages up for bid, given by 330 donors. Thanks to its 322 Sponsors, Supporters, and Hosts, Sundance 2012 generated over $132,000 of income from the auction and the dance.
Starburst Gayla — With the help of an outstanding committee, donors, sponsors, and many volunteers, the 11th New Year’s Eve dinner and dance had over 450 guests and was a tremendous success. New caterers were hired and received great accolades. Income from the Gayla was $13,592 of which 20% is allocated to the new CAMP/Mautner Cares Program.
Black and White Beach Ball 2012 — In 2012 the Black and White Beach Ball returned to the CAMP Rehoboth event lineup. The B&WBB 2012 was made possible by the generous contribution of presenting sponsor PNC Wealth Management, and featured the HeART of the Community Art Auction with works by 25 artists. The Black and White Beach Ball 2012 netted $16,698.
Women’s FEST — The 2012 Women’s FEST was a huge success, with sold out performances, classes and dances. A maximum number of tickets were sold for the Susanne Westehoeffer concert (800), plus four sell-outs at CAMP Rehoboth for Tret Fure and Poppy Champlin; the Ladies 2000 Tea Dance hosted over 500 women, and the weekend itself attracted more than 1,500 women and earned a $35,000 profit for CAMP Rehoboth.
Other 2012 Events: Bachelor Auction, Sundance 5K, Golf Tournament, World AIDS Day.
Program Committee
The Program Committee seeks to identify areas for new programming that could be made available through CAMP Rehoboth and to nurture projects that could transition into established programs. In 2012, the Committee focused its efforts on increasing the number of events taking place within the Community Center itself and increasing the number of first-time visitors to the Center.
In April 2012, local attorneys Ellen Feinberg and George “Buck” Smith presented a workshop on the legal and financial ramifications of Delaware’s new civil unions. It was standing room only in the Community Center, with nearly 100 persons attending the session. In June, CAMP Rehoboth Board member Beth Cohen presented a workshop titled “From Age-ing to Sage-ing”, which explored practices for growing older and becoming sages and spiritual elders in the community.
In the fall of 2012, the committee started a series of lectures that highlighted the Arts. The speakers for these sessions were provided through collaboration with the Delaware Humanities Forum. In September, participants learned more about the real life of Maria Von Trapp; in October, they explored the life and legacy of Vincent Van Gogh; and in November, they laughed their way through humor in literature. Typically half of the participants at these small group sessions reported that they were first-time visitors to the CAMP Rehoboth Community Center.
In addition, the Program Committee (and most particularly Committee member Sal Seeley) continued to coordinate art exhibits that were displayed in the front galleries of the Community Center. These exhibits provide an opportunity for local and amateur artists to display their works. Themes for art exhibits in 2012 included: All You Need is Love (an exhibition by members of the Delaware Shore Artists Group), Pride, Photography, and World AIDS Day.
CAMPsafe — 2012 marked the 14th year of the CAMPsafe program, and was a busy year for the program. The CAMPsafe program provides HIV prevention services to the Sussex County community of Delaware and those who visit the Rehoboth Beach area during the summer season. Programs of CAMPsafe include: rapid HIV testing, STD testing, sexual health counseling, beach and bar outreach, community health events, and a condom distribution program at bars, stores, restaurants, and beach houses. 2012 saw an increase in the number of people served through the CAMPsafe programs and offered services. In 2012 CAMPsafe: reached 4405 men at bars/beach through street outreach; tested 400 men for HIV, and successfully referred our newly diagnosed men into treatment; provided sexual health counseling to 37 men; handed out 62,443 condoms, 37,322 lube packets and 15,000 safer sex kits (1 condom and 1 lube each).
CAMP-Mautner Cares — In October 2012, CAMP Rehoboth and the Mautner Project joined forces to create a new program called CAMP-Mautner Cares. CAMP-Mautner Cares offers client navigation and volunteer services such as transportation to doctor and chemotherapy appointments, grocery shopping, and some household tasks to self-identifying lesbian, bisexual, gay, and transgender individuals living with serious illnesses such as cancer in the Rehoboth Beach-Lewes area.
CAMP Chorus — On February 11, 2012 the CAMP Rehoboth Chorus presented its third annual concert, All You Need is Love, to an enthusiastic and sold-out audience at Epworth United Methodist Church. As part of the Chorus Outreach Program, chorus members sang at Brandywine, Cadbury, and Lewes Senior Center during the month of May.
The Chorus Leadership Committee applied and received two grants from the Delaware Division of the Arts totaling approximately $4,750.00. These grants were used to continue the Outreach Program and to hire professional soloists and an instrumental combo for the 2013 concert, Broadway Our Way, under the direction of newly hired Doug Yetter. Rehearsals for this concert began August 13, 2012.
Chorus members sang in the World AIDS Day service at All Saints Episcopal Church December 1, 2012, and several chorus members helped build the award winning CAMP Rehoboth float, which was ridden by chorus members in the Rehoboth Christmas parade.
Members of the chorus joined the CAMP Volunteers on Vacation (VOV) at the Burton Village Holiday Party and led a holiday sing-along with the children, and later performed for residents at the Gull House.
Operations Committee
The Operations Committee is responsible for maintaining a safe and well-kept Community Center, as well as care and upkeep for the five rental properties and CAMP Courtyard located on the CAMPus.
In 2012, Eric Korpon, volunteer Maintenance Coordinator of the CAMP Rehoboth Community Center was responsible for: inventory control of 30 different types of light bulbs; changing and maintaining a dozen different HVAC filters; minor repairs such as broken windows, doors, handrails, etc., plus minor electrical and hardware issues. The Operations Committee oversaw the inspection of fire extinguishers; inspection of exit lights; inspection coordination with the Fire Marshal; van registration and maintenance, and pest and termite inspections of all structures that comprise our CAMPus. The committee also obtained estimates for heavy-duty repairs and follow-through on these repairs as required.
Care of the CAMP Rehoboth Courtyard is under the care of a team of volunteers (the Rainbow Thumb Club), led by Ward Ellinger. The Rainbow Thumbs assisted in the daily cleaning and maintenance of the Courtyard.
Volunteer Development
In 2012 the Volunteer Committee has been focused on two primary goals: 1) to welcome persons new to CAMP Rehoboth and share its vision and mission from the moment of their first contact with CAMP; and develop and implement a dynamic plan to recruit, train, and deploy new volunteers better prepared to assume responsibilities for CAMP Rehoboth needs. In 2012 the committee refined the volunteer orientation process developed in 2011, responding to feedback from new trainees and event chairs and matching volunteer’s skills with CAMP Rehoboth service opportunities.
The committee continued to brainstorm ways to better publicize the orientation workshops, increase participation, gather and compile accurate names and contact information through multiple sources (phone, website, walk-in), and coordinate with event chairs and the CAMP Rehoboth Volunteer Coordinator to fill volunteer needs.
Feedback from workshop participants has been highly positive, and the effort to provide a smile and a welcome to anyone entering CAMP Rehoboth continues. “Graduates” of orientation workshops have filled volunteer needs at every event in 2012 and other ongoing CAMP Rehoboth needs.
In 2012 the Volunteer Committee: conducted five orientations with 50 volunteers; coordinated 313 volunteers for over 1000 volunteer opportunities; trained volunteers involved in the new CAMPcierge and Performance Events programs; matched people to their expertise; Volunteer on Vacation Program conducted eight community service projects engaging 76 volunteers encompassing 340 hours of community service; developed a mobilized event program for use at off-CAMPus events.
Detail from the cover of the CAMP Rehoboth "Redefining Inclusive" brochure first published in 2012.
Communications Committee
In 2012 the Communications Committee reached out with press releases, social networking, and email marketing as well as collaboration on the Women’s FEST brochure and grant application. Steve Hoult and the Committee produced Facebook events for most of our projects, wrote special releases for Letters and for mainstream media, reached into the Washington, DC, Baltimore and Philadelphia markets and enhanced the visibility of CAMP Rehoboth. The return was seen in sold out events for Women’s FEST 2012, several sold out theatrical and musical presentations at CAMP Rehoboth, and increased numbers for many events. A special effort was made for Sundance promotion, with the assistance of a volunteer publicist (Nancy Sakaduski) and added social networking. The committee also tried out some new writers for Letters and was responsible for an op-ed in the Cape Gazette titled “You Don’t Have to be Gay to Love CAMP Rehoboth.”
Finance Committee and Treasurer
In 2012 the Finance Committee under the guidance of CAMP Rehoboth Treasurer Natalie Moss worked with the accounting firm of KBST&M of Timonium, MD to prepare documents and facilitate audited financial statements for CAMP Rehoboth for the year ending 2011.
The Committee and Executive Director worked with banks to obtain refinance/loan modifications to CAMP Rehoboth’s mortgage on 37 and 39 Baltimore Avenue, and monitored CAMP Rehoboth’s income and expenses, and prepared the CAMP Rehoboth Community Center Budget for 2013.
CAMP Rehoboth’s financial statements, audited financial statements and IRS form 990 tax returns are available to the public for inspection. Please contact Natalie Moss for information about CAMP Rehoboth, Inc.
2011 Audited Financial Statement
2011 Revenue
2011 Expenses
